One of the most predictable arguments is also one of the most useless: that politics come down to a choice between being for “big government” or “small government.” Those catchphrases explain remarkably little about what politicians do, or what voters want.

Could there be any more of a big-government endeavor than the invasion and reordering of Iraq, pursued by a president from the party of small government? Do the domestic spying programs have anything to do with a small-government agenda?

The big-government framework was almost entirely irrelevant to last week’s debate in the House over the farm program. Many farm-state conservatives are resolutely opposed to “welfare” programs but passionately favor big-government subsidies to farmers, even rich ones.

In the meantime, the coalition against excessive government entanglement in the farm economy crisscrossed all ideological boundaries, running from Rep. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., to Sen. Richard Lugar, R-Ind., to Rep. Ron Kind, D-Wis.

Kind’s amendment to reform the farm program attracted an admirable band of supporters, including some of the most liberal and most conservative members of the House. Yet it was overwhelmingly voted down because a slew of farm-state conservatives uncharacteristically joined the Democratic leadership in opposing it.

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"Behind every great fortune lies a great crime."Honore de Balzac

"Democrats work to help people who need help. That other party, they work for people who don't need help. That's all there is to it."~Harry S. Truman